Bond of Trust
by Shawn45
Summary: Ellen doesn't want to hurt Viola, and Viola wants to relieve Ellen of the immense pain she's in. With only a week left to live for Ellen, Viola must determine how to help her before it's too late, though with the ability to switch bodies, maybe they can make something work. One-shot, contains YURI.


**Warning: This story contains YURI, if you're not into that, then you might not be able to enjoy this story.**

Bond of Trust

"It'll make us switch bodies?" Viola asked in wonder, as she held the vial that Ellen handed over to her. The sickly girl was sitting on her bed, and she smiled weakly towards Viola, her gold eyes showing nothing but kindness, and if Viola looked a little deeper… a bit of desire as well.

"That's right." Ellen weakly nodded, and she couldn't help but cough into her hand, "I – It will just be for a day…"

"Just a day…" Viola muttered, lowering her head and feeling very uncertain. Switching bodies with someone was already a very scary concept, and switching to someone so sick and who looked to be in so much pain wasn't an appealing option either. However, if it were just for a day… Well, she might be able to do that. She trusted Ellen after all, the girl was her friend.

Ellen watched her blonde haired friend think to herself, and saw her begin to nod a few times. Ellen chuckled at the display, and unconsciously reached up and pulled back some of her purple hair that was in her vision, and asked, "Will you at least consider it?"

"I – I'll do it." Viola finally decided, "But… I'm just scared." She looked back up to Ellen, and again saw her pleading eyes, "If it's just for one day. I'll do it."

Ellen's smile widened to a size that Viola didn't think was possible, but seeing her friend so happy made her feel happy, so she returned it with one of her own. Ellen pointed to the vial she was still holding, with the syrupy pink liquid inside, "You just need to drink that… I've got everything else prepared."

"O – Okay." Viola murmured, trying not to feel too nervous. She lifted the vial to her lips, and the aroma of the liquid nearly made her gag, and she lowered it for a second as she coughed. She chuckled in embarrassment at the amused look on Ellen's face, and then brought it up again, this time doing her best to ignore the smell, and she tipped the vial upwards so the syrupy liquid could slide down the side of the vial. The taste of the liquid was surprisingly good, considering how awful it smelled, "It's kind of…" She blinked a few times, and it felt like the world was spinning.

This sensation, or whatever it was, Viola decided, was something she really did not want to experience again. She stumbled around in her body, and just barely managed to set down the vial on the nightstand beside Ellen's bed, and she stumbled around a bit more, before collapsing to the floor. It felt like her limbs were completely numb – even though she was moving, she couldn't feel a thing. The feeling of nausea and vertigo were very intense, and she closed her eyes to try and keep the contents of her stomach inside, and then… It just stopped.

"Viola?" She heard a voice… Her voice… Talking to her. Viola opened her eyes, and let out a startled gasp as she saw a blonde haired girl looking down at her with kind blue eyes. She quickly darted her head side to side, and noted that she was on a bed, and she let out a sigh.

"E – Ellen?" She muttered, the voice coming from her lips she immediately identified as her friends. She noticed her purple hair, and most importantly, the sickness her friend had, she could feel in full force. Whereas she felt full of energy and just find in her own body, she simply felt sick and so very weak in this one. She felt so tired, and just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep, and even a single movement was very difficult for her. She lifted her arm, and let out a surprised murmur at how much effort she had to use to do such a simple act.

"It's me." Ellen confirmed, "the switch worked." Viola watched as her face smiled right back at her in absolute glee, "I feel amazing!"

Viola nodded weakly, "Y – Yeah, I - I…" She coughed. Even the simple act of talking was taking more effort than she thought it would, "I feel g- good…" She lied, smiling at Ellen, trying to make sure she didn't feel guilty.

"I'm sorry if you're in pain." Ellen mumbled, "But it's just for a day, ok?"

"Ok…" Viola nodded, feeling her eyes beginning to droop, "I – I'm sorry… but…"

"It's ok." Ellen replied, reaching down and rubbing the side of her friend's head, "I understand. It's my body after all…"

Viola chuckled weakly, though it came out more as a few gasps, "I see…"

"I'm going to go explore in your body now, you just rest, ok?" Ellen told her, and Viola nodded, and it was clearly evident that the girl was exhausted. Like she said though, she knew that already. She spent all night brewing that potion, and she was way more tired that particular day than she could remember, so it made sense that Viola, who hadn't been expecting it, would just want to sleep.

"See you… Soon…" Viola muttered, and soon her eyes were closed, and her chest was raising and falling with each breath she took.

"Curious." A voice spoke from below, and Ellen looked down to see the demon disguised as a cat sitting there, "I told you this was the only way to cure your illness you know, so why haven't you killed her, to make sure that there's no way to switch back?" He looked up inquiringly.

"I don't want to." Ellen shrugged, "She's a friend…" She looked back at her own body, and smiled, glad that there was actually someone so willing to switch bodies, even if it was just for a day.

"Your body is going to expire soon, you know." Her cat reminded her, "I'd give you a week at most. You don't have enough time to fool around with your so-called 'friend'."

"Shush you, I'm more than aware." Ellen gave her cat an annoyed look, and walked to the door of her room, but before she left, she cast Viola one last worried glance, and then back down at the demon sitting there, before she shook her head, and walked out of the room.

XxXxXxX

"Your dad is so funny!" Ellen exclaimed, chuckling as she sat on the chair beside her bed the next day, talking to Viola, "I'm glad that I had your memories, otherwise I don't know how I would have reacted to him, and I would have blown my cover!"

Viola nodded along as Ellen continued to explain the previous night and her day at school to her. She felt very happy that her friend experienced such a wonderful day, and she was more than happy that she seemed to fulfill her wish. Her eyes briefly cast a glance over at the vial on the nightstand, and she realized with a jolt that Ellen saw her eyes flicker over, and her joy vastly diminished.

"I suppose you want me to switch back now?" Ellen muttered, looking aside. She was so happy to finally live a day where she wasn't constantly in pain, or feeling sick, that suddenly following what the demon said and killing her friend didn't sound like such an awful option.

"I'm sorry," Viola muttered, "But yes, I'd like to switch back." She smiled apologetically at Ellen, "It's just… very difficult to be in this body."

"Yeah… I suppose it is." She muttered bitterly, "Ok. I'll switch back now." She looked over to her vial, and the thought to just throw it against the wall and smash it, and then murder her friend again appeared in her mind, but like before, she shook the horrible thought away, and brought the vial up to her lips. Unlike Viola, she was used to the smell, so she was able to take a gulp of the liquid, and set it down on the night stand like Viola did the day before, and she experienced the horrible feeling of switching bodies yet again.

After the feelings passed, she opened her eyes, and watched as Viola, now in her own body, shakily stood up from the ground, and she watched the immense amount of relief cross her face as she stood and stretched. She could completely understand, since her own body was so weak and broken. She bitterly watched as Viola walked over and sat down at the chair beside her bed, and looked at the sympathetic smile that Viola had.

"Ellen…" Viola muttered, her smile falling from her face, and then she looked at the girl with apprehension, "I saw your memories."

Ellen's eyes widened – CRAP! She hadn't considered that at all! Viola would know everything she knew prior to the switch, and would now be aware of the demon, her initial plans to kill her during the switch, and know of all the people she killed due to the demon creating this house! No! This wasn't good! Now Viola would leave her, and never come back, since she undoubtedly wouldn't want to be friends with someone so monstrous.

"O – Oh." Ellen mumbled, unsure of what else to say. She felt a forceful cough coming in, and as she coughed, each one caused her headache to grow worse and worse, "I see…" She didn't really know what else to say. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep, and hope that her pounding headache would go away…

"I just wanted to say… I understand why you did it." Viola whispered just loud enough for her voice to carry over to Ellen, causing the girl in question to look over in shock. Viola caught Ellen's surprised expression and elaborated, "They never loved you, and treated you so horribly… If I had an upbringing like that, I don't think I could claim that I'd do something differently than you did, if a demon came to me."

"What about everyone else I've killed?" Ellen asked, amazed that there could honestly be a girl like the one right across from her. She not only understood why she did it, but she claimed that she would have done the same thing too!

Viola frowned, "I think that it's wrong that you killed so many people who came to your house, but… Well… Given your upbringing, again I can understand at least. Furthermore, you haven't done it since I met you, so that means that you're really a good person if someone actually gives you a chance!"

"That's because the demon told me that I could switch bodies with you… That's the only reason I allowed you to come see me in the first place." Ellen muttered weakly, "If you hadn't been a match, you would have joined the pile of corpses that grows each day in this house."

"I know." Viola muttered, "I have your memories now, so I'm more than aware. I also know that your original plan was to kill me when we switched, but you still didn't. While you might not think you're a good person, you're at least capable of kindness." She reached forward and hugged the shocked girl on the bed, "So I thank you for not killing me."

"I…" Ellen was speechless. She had no idea what to do or say. It was just on a whim when she decided to spare Viola… "It's because you truly wanted to be my friend…" Ellen muttered, reaching her arms up with much effort and wrapping them around Viola, "I've never had one before, so… I didn't want to kill you."

"Thank you for that." Viola sincerely replied, gently rubbing the back of Ellen's head as they held each other in their embrace. Ellen couldn't keep her arms up for very long though, and they fell limply to her side as she tried to hold in her cough, so she wouldn't cough on Viola. Fortunately, Viola reached down and brought up her hand so she could cough into that.

"Thanks…" Ellen mumbled, feeling a bit cold as Viola finally parted from her, "So now you know my secrets… You're probably never going to come back, since you're afraid of me, right? If you go now, I'll give you this one chance to leave this place without killing you, but you must promise to never come back, otherwise, I will kill you, ok?" For some reason, this really hurt her, more than even her sickness did, and she felt an unfamiliar sensation at the corners of her eyes, as warm liquid began to slide down her face.

"I have no intention of leaving you." Viola muttered, and she reached forward and wiped the tears trailing down her friend's face away, "You're my friend."

"What?" Ellen muttered, "After everything I did, you still consider me a friend? You're not revolted at the sight of me?" Like before, she couldn't understand, "I gave you the option to run! If you still want to be involved with me, I can't guarantee your safety!"

"I trust you, Ellen. I know you won't kill me, and I know you won't kill anymore else. You're a good person, you just needed a friend." Viola replied, "Plus, I said I understood – how couldn't I, when I saw the events from your own point of view? The fact that you even gave me the chance to go without harming me just proves to me that you're a good person."

Ellen chuckled, "I think you're wrong, but… Thank you all the same." She finally went to lie down, instead of sitting up, since sitting upright was beginning to make her feel a bit nauseous, and she rested her head on her pillow. She looked at Viola's bright blue eyes, and asked, "So… What now?"

"Well… You enjoyed that day so much… I can see the memories from this body…" Viola muttered, and Ellen nodded – she too could see the memories that Viola encountered in her own body – the horror, realization, understanding, and trust were all present in the past twenty-four hours, "I was thinking that maybe tomorrow… we could switch again? So you can experience that again?"

"W – what?" Ellen asked, blinking a few times in shock at Viola. Did she actually just saw that she was willing to switch bodies with her?

Viola looked aside at the vial, where there was still more than enough liquid, "I was really happy for you. I just… Want you to experience that again."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll never come back? That I'll leave you alone to die in that body?" Ellen asked, "You're a fool and naïve! Viola, you can't just trust people like that!" She shouted, surprising herself with how upset she was getting.

Viola looked a bit surprised too as she looked back at Ellen with wide eyes, "Like I said, I trust you."

"Well you shouldn't! I don't want to hurt you Viola, but if you keep tempting me like this, I might just go ahead and…" She paused, realizing now why she was getting so upset. The thought of accidentally hurting Viola revolted her – she didn't want Viola to hate her, and she didn't want the temptation to even be present, "Just… Viola… I don't want to hurt you. Please… I'm going to die very soon, you know this… The demon – you probably know from the memories you got from returning to your body – but he says that I have only a week to live. Just go, and never come back."

Viola was silent for a few seconds, and then stood up quietly, and walked out of the room, leaving Ellen to brood alone in her thoughts. She was so tired, but she couldn't help but feel very upset that Viola was so kind to her. If she had been like any other typical girl, switching bodies and killing her would be so easy, but Viola was so different that she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I just don't understand you." The demon muttered as it materialized in the room as Viola left, and for once, Ellen found herself agreeing with him.

XxXxXxX

"Why did you come back?" Ellen asked icily as Viola opened the door to her room the following day. She had tried her damn best to deter Viola from advancing through the house, using her magic in non-lethal ways to make Viola frightened and run out, but every time she scared the girl, she just looked on with determination and continued moving forward.

"Because you're my friend," Viola answered back, smiling cheerfully at the girl as if she didn't just experience any problems reaching the room.

"I – I don't understand." Ellen mumbled, looking completely baffled as Viola crossed the room and picked up the vial containing the formula for the transfer, "H – Hey! No! Don't!"

"I said that we could switch every other day, right?" Viola asked, sounding annoyed, "What kind of friend would I be if I went back on my word?" She brought the vial up to her lips, and like before, drank some of the sweet pink liquid.

"All because you're my friend?" Ellen asked, "I – I don't think friends go to this extent for each other!" She shouted, feeling her body begin to grow numb, and she fell back against her pillow as she lacked the strength to sit up any longer, "Viola, you're insane." She muttered, feeling her consciousness shift. Like before, it was an incredibly unpleasant feeling, but when she came to, she no longer felt sick, or weak, and she felt so much more energetic. She let out an annoyed groan, and stood back to her feet, putting the vial back in its rightful place on the nightstand.

"There…" Viola muttered with satisfaction, her head resting against the pillow, and she coughed a few times, "As we agreed upon."

"We didn't agree to anything." Ellen replied, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes and let out a sigh, "Viola… Are you honestly doing this just because we are friends? What is your objective here? What do you gain from potentially losing your body forever?"

"You're in my body… Look at the memories." Viola chuckled weakly, and she closed her eyes as she coughed yet again, this time harder than before, and she let out a small "Ow…" as she lifted her hand to gently rub her head, where Ellen knew she was probably getting a migraine – it happened to her whenever she coughed too hard, so it wasn't a surprise that Viola now had her face scrunched up in pain as it passed.

"Fine…" She mumbled, crossing her arms, and taking a quick glance down at the body she now possessed. Like before, it was a very odd sensation to be in a different body, especially since, while they were both girls, they were both developed differently. Viola for instance was taller than she was, but lacked the same proportions her other body had. Furthermore, short blonde hair was far different from mid-back length purple hair, furthermore, whenever she tapped her chin to think, she couldn't help but feel her different facial structure. That wasn't even covering the biggest change – the fact that this body wasn't dying. The amount of energy it had was astounding, and something Ellen dearly wished her other body had. Actions that made her absolutely exhausted in her body were trivial in Viola's, which is why she couldn't comprehend the girl willing switching bodies with her.

She finally began to sift through the memories, and she could see how much Viola trusted her, and everything she told her yesterday after the switch was completely true, Viola honestly believed that they were friends, and that Ellen thought the same way… Well, she DID think the same way. She looked at the memories from just minutes before, from when Viola was trudging through the horrors of the house that she pitted against her, and every time Viola was frightened, she'd just steel her resolve, and keep going, only thinking about fulfilling her promise to Ellen.

She… She didn't honestly know how to think of that. Ellen glanced back at Viola, who seemed to get over the worse of the headache, and was just now watching her with a smile, "So… Do you believe my motives now?" Viola asked.

Ellen let out a sigh, "I – I'm amazed at your sincerity. I can't comprehend it."

"You believe in it too." Viola muttered with a smile, "Even if you claim you don't." She tapped her head before Ellen had a chance to retort, "I have your memories, I know."

"I – I…" Ellen felt her willingness to argue leaving her, and instead felt very… happy. She supposed. She was happy that she found someone willing to do so much for her. Along with that happiness though, came despair, since she was going to be dying soon, and she wouldn't be able to experience the happiness she was feeling for very long. In addition to the happiness however, she felt a foreign emotion, something she never experienced before. She placed her hand over her heart, which was beating erratically, and she frowned. It was a… positive emotion, she was sure, but other than that, she didn't know what to do about it.

The only think she was sure about, was that whenever she looked at Viola – not her body – the soul within her body, she just felt like she wanted to walk over and hug her, and never let go. Not just hugging though, that wasn't the right way to put it… She just… She didn't know. She just knew that Viola was a very important person to her, and she didn't want her to suffer. She wouldn't leave her alone to die in her body, Viola deserved so much more than that.

"Ellen?" Viola spoke up since she stayed quiet for so long, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Ellen muttered, "Viola… I – I…" She shook her head, and smiled at the sickly girl lying in her bed, "Thank you, so much."

"It's no problem. You're my friend." Viola reminded her, and Ellen knew for a fact that she meant every word. "Now…" Viola coughed in her hand, "Go on, I know you're excited to go off – I set up a time to meet with my friends at the mall, I know you'll have fun."

Ellen nodded, seeing the information in her head, "Right. Then… I'll go." She turned to the door, but hesitantly looked back at Viola again, unsure if what she was doing was right. Maybe she should just drink the potion and… She suddenly felt a push on her back, and she let out a startled cry, and heard Viola laughing from the bed, "Wha – What was that?!"

"Magic." Viola answered deviously, and she reached up with her hand, and with magic, she opened the door, and again began to try and push Ellen out of the room.

"Fine, fine!" Ellen cried, but she couldn't help but laugh despite her worries, "I'm going! Sheesh!" She rubbed down the white dress that Viola decided the wear that day to try and look dignified. She waved to Viola one last time as she walked out, "Good bye, Viola."

"Have fun!" Viola replied, closing her eyes as she felt her exhaustion catching up to her. She hoped that Ellen would enjoy the day she planned for her, though the surprise was probably ruined, since Ellen had her memories now, but still, it was the thought that counted, right? With one last sigh, she felt her consciousness leaving her as sleep overcame her.

XxXxXxX

"I'm glad to hear that you had so much fun." Viola replied, as Ellen just got done telling her about the previous day. She smiled at how excited and eager Ellen was, and she couldn't help but giggle whenever her eyes lit up with glee every time she told another part of her day. Her friend, who had been sick all her life, truly seemed to be having the time of her life, whenever she was in her body.

"Yeah…" Ellen gasped, since she had been running all around the room, reenacting parts of the day, "I've never done anything like that before, and then I went home – to your home – and dad was there…" She was quiet, "He really cares about you, you know."

Viola nodded, "Yeah, he does."

"Your friends all love you too!" Ellen exclaimed, "I've never seen so many people who cared about one another in a single place! It's… It's amazing. After everything I've been through, I just thought that humans were all monsters out for themselves, but you've taught me that that isn't the case. People can care for one another, and they can do selfless things for others, like you did for me."

Viola looked embarrassed as she averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing red, "Anyone would have done the same thing in my shoes." She reached up to scratch her cheek, a tick she developed in her body for when she was embarrassed, but the amount of effort it taxed on her current body made her reconsider, so she just kept her eyes averted instead.

"No." Ellen shook her head, "You're wrong. You're one of a kind. No one else would have forgiven me – I can't forgive myself for what I've done, now that I've seen what people are truly capable of… What if some of those people that I lured into this house… That I killed… What if they also had loving families and friends? What if I took that away from them? I'm a selfish girl, Viola; I don't deserve anything of what you're giving me…"

Viola was silent as she listened to her, but she slowly shook her head after a few more seconds, "No… I disagree. You're human, like all of us, we all make mistakes. Some are bigger than others."

"I've murdered people. I don't think that is just a 'mistake'." Ellen muttered, looking down at the floor, ignoring the blonde hair that hung at the edges of her vision. She noticed that Viola had looked up, and was giving her a concerned look, so she tried to hide her gaze from Viola.

"Ellen…" Viola muttered. No matter what she'd say, Viola knew that everything Ellen said was absolutely true. She did murder people, and that was very wrong, and there was little doubt in her mind that the people she killed did have family and loved ones. "What's done is done…" Viola muttered after a few seconds.

"That's awfully cold, coming from you." Ellen muttered, looking up in surprise. She noticed that Viola's gold eyes were looking right at her as she stated that.

"I might be biased, since I have your memories, but I completely understand why you've done it. It's wrong, and yeah, it can't be taken back, but… you weren't in the right state of mind when you committed those murders. Plus… This is selfish of me to say, but you're my friend."

"Viola…" Ellen whispered in awe. Her friend just openly admitted that she liked her despite all the horrors she caused, and that… That made her feel very happy, and it caused her heart annoyingly to thump loudly against her chest. She brought her hand up to her chest in surprise when it did that, unable to understand why it was doing that whenever Viola said anything nice to her.

Viola smiled, but quickly closed her eyes painfully as she did, "Ow… Ow…" She reached up and rubbed her head, trying to reduce the pain of the headache she was probably going through now.

"Don't worry, I'll relieve you of the pain." Ellen replied, seeing her friend hurting, so she reached for the vial and quickly took a sip of the liquid. She let it down from her lips, and then frowned suddenly… The numbing sensation, it wasn't happening. She brought the vial back up to her lips and took a large dose, and then it started happening. The numbing filled her limbs, and shortly after, she felt their minds begin to switch.

"Are you ok?" she heard Viola ask, but she was too busy groaning in pain at how intense the headache she was going through was. This was quite a bad one, one she usually got every other week or so. "Ellen?" Viola's voice got a little more high pitch and frantic when she didn't answer the first time.

"I'm fine." She grumbled, "Painful." She supplied a one worded answer, still keeping her eyes closed as she felt the intense pounding against her skull. She gritted her teeth, and while she wished she didn't have to experience the pain, she was glad that she switched bodies before her friend could feel too much of the pain, "This just happens once in a while…" She explained, and rolled onto her side.

"Here, let me help you!" She rushed out of the room, and a few seconds later she returned with a wet rag, and placed it on her forehead, and she sat down on the chair beside her bed to watch over her. While it didn't help too much, it at least made the throbbing less intense, and for that, she was thankful. She gave Viola a slight smile, wincing occasionally at the pain.

"You went to the bathroom?" Ellen asked, "I – I didn't think it was safe to go in there." She muttered, and she saw a smile forming on Viola's face.

"Well, since I was in your body, I had control of your magic, so I did a little redecorating. I cleaned up a lot of the blood, and moved the corpses underground. I also removed the vengeful ghost from the bathroom, since I might have to use it occasionally, you know." Viola giggled at the surprised look Ellen was giving her.

"I – I see…" Ellen mumbled, wondering how it was that Viola seemed to have a better grasp of her magic than she did, "Oh… There's one thing though…" She muttered loudly, her eyes opening wide, "I had to drink more of the liquid to switch this time around!" Speaking that so loud caused a very painful throb to hit her forehead, and she let out a moan of pain.

"Really?" Viola muttered worriedly, "Does that mean we're becoming immune to it or something?" She looked at the vial on the nightstand, which only had a fraction of the liquid left inside of it.

"That's right… There's maybe enough in there for one more switch, but not enough for us to switch back…" She smiled sadly at Viola, "Thank you for indulging me for a little while, but I think this is it, as far as switching bodies go."

"Oh…" Viola muttered, looking of all things, quite sad, "I see."

"What are you thinking?" Ellen couldn't help but ask, since her friend had on such a down looking expression. Viola let out a sigh, and crossed her arms.

"I'm just sad that you're going through all of this. I was really happy to see that you were able to experience so much joy in my body, I just wish there was some way for me to help you." She shrugged, looking about ready to cry, since there were tears reflecting off the lenses of her eyes.

Ellen was utterly speechless once more, something Viola seemed to be doing to her quite a bit lately. Acting purely on impulse, she sat up, the wet rag falling away from her forehead, and she reached her arms out to Viola, even though it caused her to exert so much force that it was painful, not to mention her head painfully throbbed. Viola looked surprised at the amount of effort she was going through, and she reached forward, taking hold of her.

"Ellen! What are you doing?" She asked, holding onto the sickly girl's body. She couldn't help but cast a worried glance at the girl as she held her.

"Got you…" Ellen muttered, smiling as she wrapped her arms around Viola, and lifted her face to meet Viola's, ending with a kiss between the two of them. Viola's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and their kiss roughly ended as Viola jerked her head back.

"Uh – Um! Ellen?!" She squeaked out, unsure of what else to do.

"I think I know what this feeling is…" Ellen grinned, but she screwed her eyes close tightly and began to cough up some blood. Viola still held her tight, but rushed to lower her back down on the bed, "I – I think I love you, Viola…"

"Ellen, you're in a really bad state right now! You just need to calm down and rest!" Viola muttered, though her cheeks were flaming red.

"Do you not love me?" Ellen asked, frowning a little bit. She knew that confessing while she was this sick wasn't optimal, but given how horrible she felt, she knew that the demon's estimate for how long she had left was very generous. She knew that she had maybe a day left, two if she were lucky.

"I – I don't know!" Viola muttered, still bright red, "It's just a surprise!" She rested Ellen's head back down against the pillow, and scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "I – I need time to think about it."

Ellen smiled, "Viola. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I really appreciate it. More than you'll ever know." Viola looked up in confusion, "I know I can't expect you to have an answer immediately, and it was selfish of me to confess when I'm about to die, but I just wanted to do it so I'd have no regrets."

"About to die? What?" Viola asked, looking very frightened, "Ellen, what are you talking about?!"

"You knew as well as I did that I didn't have long left to live." Ellen pointed out, and she coughed up some more blood, "I think this is it for me."

"No! You can't die!" Viola cried, "Ellen, please!" She reached forward to touch her friend's arm – a touch that Ellen absolutely relished, "You'll be fine."

"I did say that you were a naïve fool," Ellen chuckled, "You deserve to live so much more than I do. Allow this witch to die, Viola, I deserve it after all the things I've done." She reached up with her hand, and before Viola could protest anymore, she used her magic to force the girl asleep, "Demon!" She called, gritting her teeth at how sore her throat was when she called for it.

"Yes?" It appeared at the foot of her bed, in the body of the cat, as usual. It's yellow eyes glanced at the sleeping form of Viola, and then back to Ellen, "You've made a grave mistake when you decided to become friends with her, you know."

"Perhaps," Ellen shrugged, "But I don't wish to hurt her. Take her out of her, to the edge of the forest where she can go home. Make sure no harm comes to her." She ordered it, and the demon gave her a long stare, before it finally nodded.

"Very well… I must say, you're the most interesting person I've served." It's form began to shift, and soon, instead of a cat, it began a black mist, "I'll be right back. No harm shall come to her, I swear."

"Good…" Ellen muttered, closing her eyes as she leaned back into the bed. Knowing Ellen was safe, she could now die with no regrets. She deserved this, of that she was sure. Even if Viola was kind enough to forgive such horrible actions, she couldn't forgive herself. Death was the only thing she deserved.

XxXxXxX

"Hello, Ellen." Viola spoke up, walking into the room, dusting off her favorite white dress she always wore, "I had a bit of trouble coming up here, I hope you don't mind if I'm late."

"A bit of trouble?" Ellen spat out, "I did everything in my damn power to make sure you didn't get up here! Somehow, someway, you managed to figure it out! How in the world could you do such a thing?! Why are you even here?" Ellen demanded angrily from her bed, "Why can't you just let me die?"

"I made a promise with you," Viola muttered, "That we would switch bodies every other day." She walked over to the nightstand, where the vial of pink liquid was, and she picked it up.

"Y – You can't be serious!" Ellen shouted. She shouted so loud that she spat up a glob of blood onto her sheets, "Viola! I'm going to die, and there's not enough in there for you to return to your own body!" She sat up, threw her blanket off, and she put her legs over the edge of the bed, keeping her eyes locked on Viola. That action alone made her feel very light headed, and she just wanted to close her eyes and never open them again.

"I know." Viola replied, "I thought long and hard about this choice all night… Well, you'll figure out the details when we switch, but suffice to say, I want this. But before we switch, I wanted to do one thing." She turned towards the bed, and sat down, and before Ellen even had a chance to reach for the vial and smash it, Viola grabbed her face, and gently guided their lips together. Unlike last time, neither of them parted immediately, and it lasted a long while. When they parted, Viola smiled, "There. Now I can die with no regrets!"

"No!" Ellen shouted, trying to reach the vial, but it was too late, Viola drank the entire thing, emptying it in seconds. Ellen gritted her teeth, and glared at Viola as she sat down on the bed beside her, "Why? Viola… You don't deserve to die!"

"I want this." Viola smiled, "You've never experienced having a good father, or friends, or anything like that since you've lived. I've had all of those as long as I can remember, and I want you to have them now. You deserve it."

"I don't…" Ellen cried, feeling tears falling, "I really don't… Viola…" She felt her friend's hands touching her cheek, and as the numbing sensation went through all her limbs, she kissed her friend, her mind going blank – whether it was from the kiss, or from switching, she had no idea, but the next time she opened her eyes, she was looking into her gold eyes.

"There you go…" Viola muttered, coughing into her hand, "That's my gift to you." She shook from side to side, undoubtedly the dizziness from the sickness was overtaking her, and Ellen wasted no time in helping her lie back down.

"You're an idiot…" Ellen muttered, "Why would you do this?" She looked at the vial against the wall on the opposite side of the room, where it rolled when Viola dropped it. Sure enough, nothing was left inside of it. She again looked over to Viola, feeling tears prickle her eyes, "Don't die…"

"Go…" Viola coughed up some more blood, and she began to curl up, "Go live your life now, Viola."

"No, I'm not Viola!" Ellen shouted, "There might still be time! I might be able to make a new batch! We can switch back!" She got to her feet, and frantically ran around the room, but everything she had around the room was gone, "Where is everything?!"

"I moved it all the moment we switched." Viola spoke up from the bed, "And even if it were here, you wouldn't be able to make it. You don't have any magic in that body. You wouldn't be able to brew it."

"Viola…" Ellen cried, looking tearfully at the bed, and she collapsed to the floor where she stood, "I don't want you to die…"

Viola watched with a sad smile on her face, "Go now, Viola. Your father is looking for you…" She reached up her hand, and Ellen immediately felt tiredness spread throughout her body.

"V – V – Viola…" She whispered, and then she felt her consciousness fade as sleep overcame her. She slumped to the floor, tears still falling from her eyes, and there was the occasional whimper of Viola's name every few seconds as she lay there.

"Demon?" Viola called from her bed, looking around uncertainly. She knew that there was a demon, but she had never called upon it before.

"Yes?" The cat appeared, and it eyed the body on the floor, "Ah, so you must be Viola, then?" It turned its eyes back to the girl in the bed, "It seems that you've completed her original objective for her."

"I did it because she was my friend." Viola replied, smiling at the cat, despite the blood rolling down from her lip, "Can you be a dear and take her out of here for me? Her father is looking for her in the woods right now, and could use a hand."

The demon cat chuckled, "This ought to be interesting." Like before, it turned into a mist, and wandered over to the body, where it made Ellen's body float within its misty form, "I'll do as you ask of me, Viola."

"Good…" Viola replied, and then she coughed into her hand, she frowned in annoyance at her hand, but shook her head and looked up at the demon, "But… I'm not Viola anymore. Call me Ellen."

"Very well, Ellen."

XxXxXxX

She could still remember the day when the switch occurred. She remembered the horror and sadness she felt when she learned her friend's plan too late, and she wasn't able to stop her from switching from her healthy body, to the weak and frail body that was going to expire within a day… She could remember falling asleep, calling for her to switch back…

When she woke up later that day, she was found by her father, and she rushed over to him, hugging him as tightly as she could as she cried into his shoulder, unable to accept the fact that her friend had thought that she truly deserved to live and be happy. Even now, she never truly understood it, even though she had the memories of her friend, she still could barely comprehend them. Through sheer love, determination, and kindness, Viola had willingly given away her body to someone she met not even a month ago, and the cost of it was her life.

"Viola?" She heard her friend besides her nudging her elbow, and she blinked a few times as she was taken out of her daze. She was now a freshman in high school, and was in the cafeteria where all the students were eating. The school year only started a month ago, and Ellen – who obviously went by Viola now – was bored out of her mind.

"Hm, what is it Abby?" Viola turned to her friend, and saw that the girl was giving her a flat look. Her friend had short brown hair, green eyes, and wore glasses, and like her she was dressed in the school uniform, which was another thing Viola hated about their school.

Abby let out a huff, and then stated, "I was wondering what you think the new transfer student will be like! You know he'll be in our class, right? He's coming tomorrow! I hope he's cute!"

Viola rolled her eyes, "You're assuming it's going to be a guy, what if it's a girl?" She grinned at the annoyed look Abby gave her in return.

"You're just saying that because you want to try dating another cute girl," A girl across from them replied. Her hair was jet black, and reach down to her shoulders. Her brown eyes curled in amusement, given how wide her smile was.

"Yeah, Sarah's right! What if that's all you want?" Abby agreed quickly with her friend, pointing an accusing finger at her friend.

"So what if I do?" Viola shrugged. She had been completely open regarding her preference, and fortunately she almost never received any hate about it. Her father was a little surprised initially, but he claimed that he supported her no matter what decision she made, and that if she was into girls, then so be it.

"Yeah, well, you've only dated like half the girls in the school!" Abby replied in annoyance, crossing her arms as she glared back at her.

"To be fair, only like two of them were serious about the relationship we were in. The other four were just annoying school girls who just wanted to be able to impress some stupid guy that she was into both boys AND girls." She rolled her eyes at that, "Please. I don't have time for that trash."

"Yeah, well TWO serious attempts at a relationship is better than everyone else!" Abby groaned, "Give the rest of us a chance to try and catch up!"

"I wonder though, why did you break up with them if they were serious about it?" Sarah asked, looking down at her meal and taking a bite after she finished her question.

Viola looked down at her tray and frowned, "They… They just didn't have the qualities I was looking for in someone I wanted to date." She let out a sigh, her memories going back to the one person she wished could be right beside her.

"Come on, maybe you just need to try the other side for a while." Abby gave her shoulder a pat, realizing that she was sad about something, "I know for a fact a few guys would LOVE to take you out for a date!"

Sarah giggled, "I can still remember in middle school, how devastated they were when they realized that you didn't like guys." Abby giggled alongside her at that, causing Viola to roll her eyes.

"I wasn't hiding it. If they had just asked me, I would have told them straight up." She explained, finally taking a bite of the process cafeteria food in front of her. She grimaced at the taste, wishing that she were at home having some of her father's cooking instead.

"Yeah well, I suppose most guys just assume every girl is straight, you know? It'd be kind of weird if you go up to someone you're interested in and said 'Hey! Are you gay?' You know what I mean?" Abby explained, causing Viola to giggle despite her melancholic mood.

"Well, I suppose that's true." Viola replied, taking another bite of her food.

"Back to the transfer student though…" Abby got back on topic, and Viola again started to ignore her, though her thoughts were also on the transfer student. What if she was someone like her best friend from two years ago? If that were the case, then she'd be very happy, but… Well, that wasn't going to happen.

Soon after, lunch was over, and they went through the rest of the day. Viola continued her lessons, taking notes on everything, even though she was bored out of her mind. Another few hours passed, and the final bell rang, freeing them all from their classes. Viola, in the back row of the class, let out a loud yawn as the bell rang, and began to pick up her books to head back to her locker.

"Hey… Have you heard about the transfer student? She's apparently being shown around the school right now, and…" The chatting died down, but Viola smiled, so it was a girl. Good, hopefully she would be nice.

She reached her locker, and quickly put in the combination, and opened it up, and began to cram her books into it. Some books she put into her backpack that she had stored in there, since she needed them for some assignments, and the rest she put on the shelves. As she was digging through the locker, she heard a voice beside her.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could show me to the main office?" The voice sounded pretty familiar to Viola, and she actually paused as she listened to it.

"Yeah, the office is…" She went to point in the direction of the office, but her voice died in her throat the moment she started talking, and her eyes glued onto the ones staring right at her. Her blue eyes looked in the gold eyes, and she saw an amused smile light up the face across from her, "Y – Y – You!" Viola shouted, dropping her bag, and bringing her hands up to her face to cover her mouth, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She honestly couldn't believe it.

"Been a long time, huh?" Ellen chuckled at her reaction, "Looks like I really surprised you!" She was at least braced for the impact, and wrapped her arms around Viola as she slammed into her, hugging her as tightly as she could.

"Viola!" Ellen-in-Viola's body cried, "You're alive!" She shook as she tried to keep her tears at bay, and she knew that there were a lot of students around giving her odd looks, but she didn't care at all, "I'm so happy to see you!" She cried, unsure of what else to do or say, "I – I thought you were dead!"

"Turns out that I can control magic better than you can, and because of that, with the help of my trusty demon, we were able to prolong my life long enough to find a cure for my illness!" Viola-in-Ellen's body explained, "It took us a long time to find a cure, but we did it!"

Ellen continued to cry into Viola's shoulder, unable to truly believe that her best friend was alive. She felt Viola gently rub her back, and she led her through the hall towards the bathroom, where they had a bit more privacy. There were a few women in there doing their own thing, but fortunately they left the two alone for the most part. "It's all right…" Viola continued to whisper comfortingly into Ellen's ear, "It's all right…"

"I felt so guilty for so many years because of what happened to you…" Ellen muttered, "I thought I had pretty much killed you. I kept thinking I should have destroyed that dumb vial, so you couldn't switch!"

"Viola-"

"It's Ellen, you're Viola." Ellen insisted, "even if we've switched bodies, I want _you_ to call me Ellen, ok?" She still kept her arms wrapped her Viola, holding as tight as she could, not intending on letting go any time soon.

"Ellen, then," Viola fixed her error quickly, "I did that because I wanted to. I explained it to you then, and you have my memories of that time too, you know exactly why I did it."

"I – I know… But… I was just so sad… I stole everything from you." Ellen cried harder, tears still spilling out from her eyes, "I couldn't believe that I allowed you to do that!"

"Were you happy at least with my friends, and my father?" Viola asked, rubbing the back of Ellen's head still. Ellen seemed to relax the longer she did it, so she didn't let out, and soon Ellen wasn't crying quite as hard, just holding her close, breathing in and out slowly.

"Truthfully, yes." Ellen admitted, "I loved being with daddy. He shows me time and time again what a real father is supposed to be like. My friends are all good people, even if they can get a bit annoying at times. I love being around people, even if I find school boring, I appreciate the fact that I can even be here… I love my life, and I don't ever want to change it, but I'd give it all back to you. Since you're alive and here, that means that you can make the potion, and we can switch bodies again, right?"

Fortunately, they were the only two left, since they had apparently frightened out the rest of the people in the bathroom, due to whatever it was that they were talking about. Ellen looked around; suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed, and backed away from Viola, pulling her blonde hair back behind her ears. It was then that she finally took notice of Viola's clothes – the girl wasn't wear the white and teal uniform of the school, and was instead dressed in a short-sleeved white blouse, and a skirt that reached down to her knees. In addition, she was wear heels that boosted her height a few inches. Despite that, Ellen-in-Viola's body was still the taller of the two by a small margin.

However, Ellen couldn't keep her eyes from wandering up and down Viola's body. Even if it DID used to be hers, it had matured a lot within the two years she had last seen it, and it never looked as healthy as it did now. Whereas before it underweight, Viola had taken such good care of herself that she looked perfectly healthy, not to mention that her chest was quite a bit larger than her own, which made her cheeks warm up as she took it in.

"Like what you see?" Viola asked, chuckling as she saw Ellen begin to blush. She posed for Ellen over-dramatically, thrusting her chest forward, which again caused Ellen's already warm face to get that much hotter.

"Um… Well…" She chuckled, "Is it a bit weird to… um… 'like' your own body like that?" She looked aside, embarrassed that she actually said that aloud.

"Considering that you haven't seen it in years, I don't think so." Viola replied, "But it does make me happy. I really looked forward to the day I could see you again, you know." She smiled as she leaned forward towards Ellen, "You don't know how many times I've fantasized about this moment over the years that we've been apart." With that said, Viola closed the rest of the distance, and the two kissed for the first time in two years. Fortunately for Viola, Ellen had quite a bit of practice with kissing over the years, so she experienced quite a thrilling kiss she wasn't quite expecting.

Ellen grinned at the glazed look that Viola had when they parted, and she giggled, "Bet you weren't expecting that, huh!" She laughed as Viola shook her head, and again tried to compose herself.

"Well, no, I wasn't." Viola admitted, "But that was quite a kiss, especially since it has been so long." She looked hesitantly down at the floor, and finally shook her head, "Can we do it again?"

"Of course." Ellen muttered, closing the gap again and kissing her. This was the first time Ellen could think of where she felt almost an electrical current going between them. She felt her mind slowly going blank as she kissed the one she knew was her love. This was a once in a life time kind of love, and she was so happy she could experience it again, that the one she truly loved didn't die two years ago.

"Wow…" Viola muttered, blinking a few times to try and get her bearings again, "Amazing…"

"I've had a lot of practice over the years, but I never stayed with anyone for more than a few months." Ellen explained, "None of them had the qualities I was looking for…"

"Oh? And what were those qualities?" Viola asked, holding Ellen close to her.

"I wanted someone who was so compassionate for the one they loved that they would stand by them no matter what. I wanted someone with enough kindness to die for someone else if need be, and I wanted someone who loved me despite everything I've done in my past…" She looked up to Viola, "Basically, you."

"Well, those are quite the requirements to fill." Viola chuckled, "But I'd like to believe that anyone would do that for the ones they loved…" She finally parted from Ellen, ending their embraced, and she reached a hand over to the door, locking it with her magic.

"You can still do that?" Ellen asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise, "I had to keep killing people to fuel my magic…" She looked to Viola in shock, wondering if the girl was doing the same thing.

"Tch, Master Ellen doesn't need to do that." The cat replied, appearing beside the sink. It stretched out, and looked over to Ellen, "She's ten times the witch you were ever. Her attunement to the magical realm is far stronger than yours was."

"Hey, Mr. Demon, be nice to her!" Viola scolded her, "And when Ellen is around, you can call me Viola, so we don't confuse everyone, ok?" She pointed at the cat a few times to try and get her point across.

"Very well, Viola." The cat mewled, and it disappeared, leaving only dust where it once stood. Ellen stared at the spot for a few seconds longer, before looking up to Viola.

"He likes to follow me around." She shrugged, "Now… While I would absolutely love to go see my dad and my friends now, since we're alone in the bathroom together, and I have so much magic, there are so many things we can do together!" She giggled, and smiled as she looked at Ellen.

"What do you mean?" Ellen asked, "Don't you want to switch back to your own body?" She couldn't understand what Viola was getting at.

"We can switch back and forth for the rest of our lives! No, I want to do other things with you! I've had quite a while to think of what we could do together, and Mr. Demon gave me a few ideas as well…" Viola explained, lustfully looking at Ellen.

"Woah!" Ellen exclaimed, though she was smiling too, "Hold on! I don't object, but… We're in a bathroom!"

"I have magic, remember?" She snapped her hands, and the toilet stalls and sinks disappeared, and there was instead a massive bed. Ellen didn't even know what size it was, because it went beyond a king-sized bed. The lights dimmed down, and Ellen felt Viola take hold of her hand. "Now, what do you want to do first?"

"Anything I can think of?" Ellen asked for clarification, feeling immensely excited for all the possibilities they could do together. Her mind was already going a mile a minute, thinking up different things they could be doing together.

"Absolutely anything," Viola claimed, leading Ellen to the edge of the bed, where she sat her down, "What do you want?"

"Well, let's just start simple then," Ellen shrugged, "Kiss me."

With a short laugh, Viola nodded, and soon their lips were clamped onto one another. When they parted for a quick breath, Viola muttered, "Let's make this next one more interesting!" Ellen didn't understand immediately, but suddenly she knew what happened when their lips touched each other again, and their tongues explored each other's mouths. Viola's tongue was at least double in length, and it wrapped around her own tongue. She was surprised at first, and pulled away, but smiled when Viola giggled.

"That surprised the hell out of me! You really do mean anything!" Viola was nodding, and she couldn't help but want to launch into another kiss with her. She saw Viola bring her hand up and snap, and suddenly every sensation she felt was increased at least tenfold, and she felt her mind going blank with the pleasure she was feeling, not to mention how warm she was feeling down below. This was going to be heaven on Earth, and the two of them would have each other for the rest of their lives.

XxXxXxX

Notes:

I've had this in my head for a while, and I just decided to write it down one day when I had nothing better to do at work. The switch still happens in this - multiple times - but this time around Ellen isn't a monster, and actually has a conscious, that's basically the only difference. Oh, and both of them are lesbians, I guess that's a pretty big difference too (Though we never learn that they aren't in game!)

Yeah, it got a bit smutty at the end there, but I ended it before it got too bad. Switching bodies is already fetish fuel, so imagine that AND magic to do almost anything you can think of! That's why I didn't go too far along at the end, because I'll leave it up to the reader's imagination.

Other than that, I was originally going to end this where Viola switches bodies for the final time, and then kicks Ellen out, to make it end more in line with the game, but then I was like, "screw it". I decided to add a line early on about how Viola seemed to be better at magic than her, and then I ended it with Viola being a better witch and being able to save herself. If you don't like the happy ending, you can always go back to the bittersweet one and pretend it ends there.


End file.
